Community Psychology, Public Policy, and Children
This chapter describes the author’s early development as an “accidental” community psychologist who contributed an ecological/community perspective to the field of law and psychology, especially regarding research and intervention projects in juvenile justice. The author’s supervision of more than 50 PhD dissertations during the past half-century has focused on the importance of social context to individual interactions as a theme, permeating his mentoring, teaching, and research. A few early projects, especially changing the culture of a juvenile correctional facility and exploring the landscape of child sexual abuse, have led to efforts to influence public policy regarding youth in the legal system. The central goal has been that understanding through research and theory should facilitate reasoned action.